Snow Canyon Hike

Dave has run nearly every day for 30 years, and he has convinced all his children to be runners, as well. Michael ran the Salt Lake half marathon several weeks ago and is training for a whole marathon in Provo in June. Dave and I drove to St. George Friday night, April 29, "to mow the lawn," as Dave describes it. Michael joined us. On Saturday morning, Dave and Michael both took long runs. We then visited Dave's mom and Darrell, and, afterwards, we went hiking in Snow Canyon.

We took the Three Ponds trail, up and down past stunning formations of red rock.

Afterwards, we hung out at the Texas Roadhouse, eating peanuts and perfectly grilled ribeye steaks.

Easter Weekend

Spring came late this year. On Easter weekend, Michael was in Chicago with Jonny and Jenny, and Dave and I were alone in the gray of late winter. On Saturday, April 23, we headed for Oakley, in hopes that the snow had melted on the road leading to the cabin from the Pine Mountain gate. No luck. We did take evocative photos of the rushing creek and bleak beauty of rural Summit County just before spring arrives.

We then drove past Lake Jordanelle...

to a semi-deserted Park City for soup, salad, and apple crisp at the
Eating Establishment.

This weekend, we celebrated the glory of Christ's resurrection, as in years past. Otherwise, this was a pale shadow of other Easters, when we bought Easter baskets for the kids and cooked the delights of spring--ham, asparagus, and strawberries shortcake--all served on my best Lenox china and Hong Kong lace tablecloth for Grandma and the family.

Salt Lake Marathon

Jonny and Jenny flew home from Chicago on April 13. Jonny came to run the Salt Lake Marathon and Jenny came to run the half marathon.

It was a family affair. Dave and Michael, from our family, ran the half marathon, with Michael coming in very fast, 1 hour and 46 minutes. Jenny ran the half marathon with her brother, Danny, and Jenny's sisters, Tori and Tess, ran the 5K.

Jenny's parents, Dave and Shelly Leatham, invited us to a "carb" spahetti dinner on Friday, the night before the race. We were charmed by Jenny's nephews, Jude and Josh...

by Jenny's warm and inclusive family, and by Jenny's mom's dessert tray, with strawberry tarts and cherry chocolates.

Michael came directly to the Leathams' house from his apartments. He still had paint on his hands from painting over graffiti!

Saturday morning, our family was up early, dressed for the race. It was cool but not rainy--perfect race weather.

After the race ended at Gateway, we gathered to celebrate.

No one was very perky Saturday afternoon. We lounged downstairs, watching movies.

Jenny and Jonny flew back to Chicago Sunday at 1:30 p.m. "It was just a quick trip," Jenny said, but how we enjoyed each moment with Jonny and Jenny.

One curious experience of the weekend was getting the outside of our house painted. The painters wrapped Dave's car in white plastic to keep it from getting splattered, and they used a crane to get to the top floor!

Stuff

Moving new furniture into our basement. Emptying furniture out of Grandma Calder's house. Storing my share of Grandma's books and puzzles and Christmas decorations in our garage. Lugging Kent's gifts from Grandma Calder to a storage unit. Dave and I spent the April 1 and April 8 weekends managing "stuff."

We redecorated our basement around the photograph of the Wasatch Mountains which we bought in Springville, near Zions Park. It is full of plums and golds. We added the plum-colored chair from Mom's living room, and a leather couch, ottoman, and rug suggested by our decorator, Bobbie from Bassett Furniture.

We bought a state-of-the-art, big-screen TV, hooked it up to Netflix and Direct TV, and suddenly we have an "entertainment center." This weekend Michael, Dave and I watched documentaries on Enron, Mugabe's Zimbabwe, meth, the Afghanistan war, and the Appalachian Trail.

Kent and Toshiko stayed with us the weekend of April 1, and we worked together to get their furniture and paintings from Grandma's house to a storage unit. Dave was in St. George and Michael saved the day by providing the muscle to move bookcases, couches, and a marble-topped table into Kent's "Cubes" storage unit.

The weekend of April 8 was the big Move-out, with Scott, Kent, Dave, Jean, Michael, and I all sorting and moving. We rented a 16-foot dumpster...

and a truck that Dave drove all over town--to our house, Scott's house, Kent's storage unit, the library, and Deseret Industries--delivering Grandma's "stuff" to its new home.

There were moments of sadness and tender memories as we entered Grandma's door with its familiar "God Save Our Troops" sticker...

and as we reminisced over the many marks on Grandma's family room door, showing the heights of all the grandchildren throughout the 23 years Grandma lived in the home.

There wasn't much left in the house by Saturday night, April 9, and nothing at all by the following Friday, April 15. The contractor can finish painting, and then we'll list the house for sale.

Scott, Dave, Michael, Jonny and I cleaned out the last things on Thursday night, April 14.

The happy side was that there were plenty of Grandma Calder's treasures for everyone--books and Ethiopian baskets and Calder ice cream boxes. We boxed up all the "family history" for me to sort through as I write the book about Grandpa. There were treasures there, as well, from scrapbooks of Grandpa's mission, to yearbooks from Utah State University edited by Grandpa, to letters he wrote his children.

Our garage is full of treats--a new Santa and wooden reindeer with horns...

a few vintage puzzles and the dining room chairs that Grandma Calder designated for Lisa.

Stuff--we tried not to get too fixated on the materialism of it, but to relish the happy memories it preserved.